Heart Failure Management Programs

During the past decades, the prevalence and incidence of heart failure (HF) have continued to increase due to improved survival from myocardial infarction and the increasing number patients aged 65 years and over <[Cowie et al, 1999]; [Tunstall-Pedoe et al, 1999]; [Capewell et al, 2001]; [Davis et al, 2002]>. Rehospitalization rates for HF remain substantial, with at least thirty percent of elderly patients readmitted within one year, to as many as fifty percent at 6 months <[Gooding and Jette, 1985]; [Vinson et al, 1990]; [Cline et al, 1996]; [Chin and Goldman, 1997]; [Krumholz et al, 1997]; [Cowie et al, 2002]>. Despite improvements in the treatment of HF, data from a recent retrospective population-based cohort study shows that the prognosis following HF hospitalization remains poor, with 30-day and 1-year mortality rates of 24% and 61% respectively in older patients with multiple comorbidities <[Jong et al, 2002]>.